Hell’s Kitchen, Sept. 29 – … Finally

Tonight’s episode starts off with the craziness that is Hell’s Kitchen. Dave and Tennille are arguing about Van’s departure. Dave feels stupid and scorned that Tennille broke ranks and gave Chef Ramsay the honest answer on who was the worst.

I believe Dave is personally blaming Tennille for Van being let go. It has nothing to do with the horrible service we saw last week. This really makes no sense; he should know by now that their nominations mean nothing. If Chef Ramsay doesn’t agree with their choices he calls down who he really wants to leave. Dave can’t honestly believe they have the power to send people home that Chef Ramsay doesn’t want gone. Just look at Suzanne; people have been trying for weeks to get her out.

Kevin is sitting back enjoying the fireworks between the two of them. He knows their anger will be self-destructing, and that leaves Kevin in a good position. Suzanne and Ariel are smoking, worried that they need to step up their game. Suzanne knows that she used her last save tonight having been up on the block three times now. Kevin is the only one at peace. I hope he doesn’t get too cocky because that always takes people down.

The next morning the chefs meet Chef Ramsay in the dining room for their first individual challenge. They are to create a dish that not only tastes fantastic but is visually just as appealing. They have 45 minutes to present their dishes. He brings in the editorial staff and Barbara Fairchild, the Editor and Chief of Bon Appetit magazine, to help him judge.

The editorial staff will rank the dishes solely on appearance. Chef Ramsay and Barbara Fairchild will then taste the top two dishes to decide the winner. The chefs are warned that they don’t want to lose this challenge. Considering some of the loser tasks this season I don’t know that he really needs to tell them that. What could possibly be worse than what they have already handed out?

Kevin decides to keep it crisp and simple and is making a Caribbean Sea Bass with Orange and Papaya.

Suzanne prepares a Calamari Salad. What? You have the opportunity of a lifetime and you are making a salad? Dave agrees with me.

Dave is cooking a Rack of Lamb with Fingerling Potatoes.

Ariel is making a Prosciutto Wrapped John Dory.

Tennille will be presenting an Asian Inspired Red Snapper. Her fish breaks when plating so she puts the fish on the bottom and everything else on top of it.

I would guess that making something aromatic would only add to the visual experience of the dish, so Kevin’s citrus would make a lot of sense. I would have made some decadent chocolate things with some sort of liquor. Yum chocolate … ugh, need to stay focused.

Everyone puts their dish on the pass and the judges walk down the line looking at the dish and speaking to the chefs. Personally I think Kevin’s dish looks the best; it’s colorful and has a few different textures displayed. When one of the judges meets up with Dave to talk about his dish, Dave gets completely tongue-tied and can’t remember the word tomato. He repeats red and yellow a few times. He does this more then once with different judges.

Chef Ramsay gets all the cards and tallys them up.

Tennille is last; she just couldn’t save that broken piece of fish. Dave of course has lots to say about her not belonging there. Too bad he can’t talk about his dishes with the same amount of passion he uses to talk about Tennille.

Fourth place is Suzanne’s salad. Personally I think these two dishes should have been scored in reverse. She made a very bland looking salad. She believes it is a piece of art.

Chef Ramsay now decides to announce the highest scoring dish, which is Kevin. Second and third place dishes were very close in their scores but the dish moving on to be tasted is Ariel.

They taste Ariel’s John Dory first and both like it. Chef Ramsay thinks it was edgy and dangerous to use cranberries but that it really worked.

Kevin’s Sea Bass also gets high markings. Chef Ramsay says that he has never seen a fish paired with so much fruit and work in his life. Barbara Fairchild is reminded of the beach and loves it.

Chef Ramsay and Barbara Fairchild agree that there is no losing dish here and they both win the challenge. He thinks both of the dishes are fantastic. The prize is a photo shoot on the beach with the judges and their dishes will be featured in the magazine.

The losers are told that Hell’s Kitchen has adopted a street in Los Angeles. The good news is they get out of the kitchen; the bad news is that they have to clean up the street. Something tells me the street adopted is not Rodeo Drive.

Chef Ramsay has given the losers nice orange jumpsuits. They are driven to their street in what looks like a bus that would take you to jail. Chef Scott is there to greet them with trash bags and trash picker tools. There is a ton of trash along the road and up a grassy hillside. Tennille has lots to say about picking up trash and has decided never to commit a crime. Work continues back at Hell’s Kitchen

The winners on the other hand are having a great time at their photo shoot.